


My Sweetest Downfall

by notquitewitches



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Other, SO, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a tiiiiny bit of angst but obv, lots of introspection, this has no point except cuteness, this is so diabetically sweet you guys have no idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 17:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16141904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notquitewitches/pseuds/notquitewitches
Summary: Saying I love you was easy. They said that to each other all the time ever since they had gotten over the scary part of letting the other know just how much they cared. They said it when they were going out and when they went to sleep. When one of them got good news and when one of them did something stupid. When they were proud and when they were in awe. It meant a lot, but it was fast and concise. Easy.





	My Sweetest Downfall

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from samson by regina spektor. In case you haven't read the tag, this is a normal AU, no powers, no gods. Also in case you're reading my other fic this could and could not be set in that same universe ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> enjoy your reading!!

The idea had dawned on Magnus on a random summer night while he and Alex were lying in bed, only their fingertips touching because the heat made any other form of contact feel like being in hell. The sheets were tangled around their feet and the mattress underneath them could as well been filled with burning coal.

The window of their tiny apartment was open wide but there wasn’t one wind gust to make the night more bearable. All the sounds of the nightlife of Boston filled the dark room, familiar and somewhat relaxing to have as a background noise. Staring at the white ceiling, Magnus couldn’t help but think of how overwhelming thankful he was of everything. Even if it was two in the morning and he hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Alex was right next to him, lying on his stomach, his arm stretched towards Magnus and a frown on his face. He had been complaining nonstop until a few minutes before, but drowsiness had won over his impulse to moan about how he had literally just washed his hair and now he was just contemplating in silence the cursed situation.

Until a few years before, Magnus wouldn’t have even imagined he’d have his own apartment. It had sounded like an unreachable dream, but somehow luck had turned around to him and now he got to share an apartment with his favourite person in the whole world. That surely was something to be thankful about.

He fixed his eyes on Alex, trying to carve that moment into his memory. A warm feeling filled his chest and a smile forced its way on his lips. That happened a lot, when Alex was around. Sometimes it was too good to be true, all of it.

Alex only had one eye open, looking up at him through the messy locks of pink hair stuck to his face. Every now and then the lights of a passing car shone through the window, falling on Alex’s face and scaring away the shadows that hid his features. They might have known each other for over six years now, but in Magnus’ eyes, Alex hadn’t changed a bit. Apart from his hair and how less harsh he was compared to the early days. Not easier to love, no, that had never been complicated for Magnus, but he loved more. Him. Much more openly, without shame or second thoughts tainting it. It had taken long and it was a never-ending process, but Magnus was willing to wait as long as he was alive.

“What are you thinking about?”

Alex’s voice was so soft, it seemed to be disembodied. Just an echo from a distant memory.

Magnus hummed for a second, bending an arm to rest his head on it. He contemplated what he was really thinking about. Maybe it was the heat making everything seem like a fever dream, maybe it was the fact that he was high on exhaustion, but his thoughts turned into a loop, a single idea that he couldn’t get rid of.

Saying  _ I love you  _ was easy. They said that to each other all the time ever since they had gotten over the scary part of letting the other know just how much they cared. They said it when they were going out and when they went to sleep. When one of them got good news and when one of them did something stupid. When they were proud and when they were in awe. It meant a lot, but it was fast and concise. Easy.

Magnus didn’t say the specific words he was thinking about. His brain took an abrupt turn just as he opened his mouth to speak and his voice followed.

“We should get married.”

He turned his head to look at Alex, pressing his cheek against the pillow. Alex’s eyes were wide and his mouth formed a perfect o. It was dark, but Magnus could have sworn that his eyes had glossed over. Damn, his own eyes had. He realized he was smiling, something as bright as joy and as sharp as hope building up in his chest.

Alex laughed nervously, bringing a hand to his face to tuck behind his ear the hair that had fallen in his face. He rubbed his face, hiding for a second to recollect his thoughts and breath. When he looked back at Magnus, he was as luminous as a star, with a hesitant smile ghosting on his lips, as if he was trying to hold it back.

“We should.”

His voice rang clear in the still air, sure and heavy with the same euphoria that made Magnus’ heart run faster. He took Alex’s hand, intertwining their fingers. He could not stop smiling or tear his eyes away from Alex’s. There weren’t any words good enough to express what he felt, but neither of them had ever made a big deal of spoken language.

Alex started laughing again, softly. He closed his eyes and a few tears slipped out of the corners. Magnus went still, unsure of what to think or what to do. He was about to reach out and wipe away the tears, but he’d have to let go of Alex’s hand and he really didn’t want to.

“Wow,” Alex whispered. He tilted his head to dry up his cheek on his shoulder. He shuffled closer, until they were lying on the same pillow, forgetting the scorching heat. They were all that existed right then. “I’m glad that it’s you.”

“I adore you,” Magnus confessed, voice low and serious, although he still couldn’t stop smiling. Alex kissed him, cupping his cheek with his hand. When he moved back he let his fingers slip through Magnus’ hair, playing with it like he always did when he was deep in thought. His face was red and Magnus wasn’t sure if it was because he was hot or for something else.

“Sixteen year old me would freak out if he knew I’d be marrying you in the future,” he mused, burying his face into Magnus’ neck. It sent shivers running down his spine. He’d never get used to it, never grow bored of it.

“Sixteen year old me would think it’s a joke if I told him,” Magnus laughed a bit. “I thought you hated me for a whole year.”

“I did hate you.”

“Aw, really? Was I that terrible?”

“You seemed fucking god-sent and that’s not fair at all.”

Alex grinned up at him, with that sly expression that made him look like a cat. Magnus took his time to commit to memory his face all over again. He knew him like the back of his hand, but relearning everything was another thing. It gave him the chance to fall for him again and again, each time like the first. It made him dizzy.

Alex sighed dramatically, flicking him an amused glance, and rolled onto his back. His fingers untangled from Magnus’s hair and he let the arm drop on the mattress, far away from his body. He huffed, his face flushed and his hair plastered on his forehead once again.

“It’s too fucking hot to be close.” Alex shuffled away, back to his side of the bed. “We won’t touch again until it’s raining every day.”

Magnus laughed softly, suddenly out of breath as the weight of the hot air dropped on him like a stone.

“I will be eagerly waiting for the winter, then.”

Alex smiled at him, reaching towards him to playfully shove his shoulder away. His arm lay on the bed, crossing the space between them. Magnus intertwined their fingers again, turning to his side to face Alex. He had closed his eyes, but his other hand still tapped on the mattress restlessly. Magnus decided to try to fall asleep too, even if it was rather complex after such a moment.

They were going to get married.

He grinned again, feeling that giddy warmth run through his veins again.

Hours seemed to pass, only marked by the rumble of the cars outside. Sleep didn’t come, chased away by adrenaline and discomfort.

“Magnus?” Alex whispered suddenly, his grip on his hand tightening a bit.

“We should sleep,” he mumbled, without opening his eyes.

“I know, but I can’t. Keep me company.”

Magnus cracked one eye open, his lips curling into a smile.

“I have an early shift tomorrow,” he reminded the other, but he had opened both eyes and all his drowsiness had faded already.

“I know I know, I’m sorry, but you can’t expect me to sleep!” he hissed, lifting himself up on his elbow. “My brain is just…” he made an exploding motion with his hand. “There’s too much to think about and plan.”

“Why? Do you want a huge party?” Magnus was quite taken aback. He’d been picturing something small and brief. Nothing major. Alex stared at him with confusion painted on his face.

“No? I don’t know? Not really, it’s not my gig, but isn’t that how weddings are?”

He was awfully cute when he was hesitant.

“Alex,” Magnus’ voice fell flat. “Darling, we don’t have enough friends for something big.”

It was a fact. They shared most of their friends and even if they were to be generous, the sum barely reached ten people. Alex seemed to have forgotten about it, by the look of surprise on his face.

“You’re right. Thank God.” he laughed and dropped back down, his head bouncing on the pillow. “Still, I guess we should do something.”

“Yeah, but we can worry about that tomorrow.” his eyes were falling close on their own, heavy with heat induced sleepiness.

“Thank you.”

Magnus heard his whisper just as exhaustion took over. He wished he was still awake enough to tell Alex that he shouldn’t thank him, that everything he did, he did because he wanted to, because-

“I love you,” he mumbled, or at least he hoped to, through the curtain of sleep.

 

When they woke up, only a few hours later but with the sun drenching the room in gold, they had a split second of complete loss. They just stared at each other, slightly out of breath, feeling as if they were missing something. Then the realization of what they’d agreed to dawned on them and they fell into a fit of giggles, unbridled happiness coursing through them like electricity, like it had never had before.

 

To no one’s surprise, getting married was way more complicated than initially thought. They wasted two whole hours on various websites, trying to find some clear explanation of which long and paper-filled process they should follow. In the end they declared defeat and decided to ask Blitzen.

Alex had pointed out that Blitzen and Hearth hadn’t gotten married yet, they probably had no idea either, but Magnus had just shrugged. They were the adults, they would have had an idea.

They ended up staring at each other in a rather alarmed fashion, the phone open on the groupchat they had with the two older men.

“We should tell them,” Alex started, nodding towards the phone. “All of them, that we’re getting married. Maybe in a nice way.”

Magnus just stared straight at her in the eyes, torturing his lower lip with his teeth.

“It feels weird,” he said in the end, moving his legs onto the couch to cross them, hoping to make the awkwardness go away. He glanced at the phone and then at Alex, silently asking for a bit of help.

“You don’t want to tell them?” Alex tilted her head, looking surprised more than anything else.

“No, I do, I just never thought about this…” he waved his hands around, struggling to come up with the right way to define the situation they were in. To be fair, he had never even imagined he’d get married.

“I think that none of us, and I mean the whole group, was expecting this, but I’m also fairly certain that we would need witnesses, so.” Alex shrugged, a small smile dancing on her lips. She reached for Magnus’ phone, but he moved it closer to himself. He took a breath and unlocked it, but stalled again when he opened the chat. Alex hovered on his shoulder, looking at him as if the situation amused her to no end.

“Maybe go on the group chat with everyone, so you won’t have to repeat yourself, you know?”

Magnus berated himself quietly. He hadn’t been that nervous when he had asked Alex, so why was he now? It was probably because the idea was starting to scare him a little. Not that he regretted it, absolutely not, but he was starting to truly realize how important and monumental marriage was. He had never really thought about it, it had never been a possibility in his mind nor he had ever given it much meaning. But now, looking at Alex trying to hijack his phone to compose the message, her face scrunched up in the effort to get the phone to recognise her voice, he was sure that it had a meaning. Even if it was just a couple of signatures and a lot of bureaucracy, it mattered. It would make everything even more real, at least in his mind; it was like saying an oath out loud, the promise of staying by her side forever. It was worth everything and anything.

“Earth to Magnus, you there? Your phone doesn’t recognise me, you have to throw it away.” She was pouting a bit, her eyes staring right through him with their usual intensity.

“Yes,” he snapped back into himself. He grinned at her. “Was just admiring you,”

“Stop it with this nonsense,” she shot back sharply, but she was blushing. “Start writing.”

He stared at the keyboard blankly, trying to find the most appropriate way to approach the topic. He’d totally go for a very direct way, like “ehi pals we’re getting married, any tips”, but he knew Alex well enough to be sure that she would call off the engagement that very second if he wrote that.

She was getting impatient, but she didn’t try to steal the phone away again. She just huffed, tapping on his shoulder insistently.

“I’ll just tell you what to write or it will get dark out before we do anything. So.” she leaned forward, pressing down on Magnus’ shoulder so that her face was right next to his. “Dear friends,” she started, voice overly serious, “After a long period of meditation. No, scratch that,  _ reflection _ . Okay, yes, uhm…”

“Alex, there was no thought process at all behind this decision,” he deadpanned, but she just shrugged.

“They’ll ask anyway, let’s make it sound cooler. As if we were actual adults and not, like, twenty three and about to elope, you know?”

“Fair enough. Well, go on.”

“Uhm… we decided, yeah write it, we decided that we should make it official. Okay, I’d say send this and leave them wondering.” she smiled with an evil sparkle in her eyes.

“No, Alex, that’s bad,” Magnus tried to stop her, but without much energy. Keeping their friends on their toes was much better than a serious announcement. Alex managed to reach out and press send, much to Magnus’ dismay.

“Now write that we’re getting married, but wait until they’re online and we have their attention. before sending.”

“You are a monster, I love it.”

“Your spouse has a taste for dramatics, your life will be simply wonderful.”

She had a wide, wild smile on, one that made her look ageless and more than human. He kissed her, his hand sneaking up to tangle in her hair, and he wished for it to never end.

The phone vibrating made them break apart. A lot of confused texts crowded the chat, mostly question marks and keysmashes. Alex did a quick headcount and nodded to Magnus. He sent the other text, holding his breath as the checks in the corner of the speech bubble turned blue.

More than thirty texts followed each other fast as all of their friends started screaming in sync. Magnus was vibrating with nervousness, an ecstatic fear, need to hide and to scream it from the windows at the same time. Alex pressed her cheek against his, she was burning hot and laughing softly. She pointed out to him a couple of texts, whispering to herself something he couldn’t quite catch.

One of the messages was asking if he meant him and Alex. It was Sam and she was evidently having a hard time putting together the Alex she knew and what Magnus was saying.

Halfborn was crying about how fast they grew up and Blitz joined in fast, all of their texts in caps and full of exclamation points.

TJ was direct and practical, asking what Magnus had been awaiting.  _ When and how. _

He wrote a reply but hesitated on sending it, turning around to look at Alex instead, who was reading the message with a concentrated frown, mouthing the words as they went. She gave him thumbs up and he pressed send.

_ Last night actually? We couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it was to be sleepless but with Alex, and that just… happened. I asked and he said yes. He was cute as fuck. _

“You’re a sap, but somehow I find it endearing.” She kissed him on the ear, making him whine and flinch back. He tried to glare, but it was hard keeping a straight face with Alex so close to him.

The group chat rioted again and Magnus took his time to read and appreciate every text, every incoherent yell. It felt as if they were there in the room; it was just as loud, just as warm. He was once again reminded of how much he loved his family.

“I can’t believe you’re the first to get married, you were the last ones in order of probability,” Alex read Hearth’s text out loud, breaking into a laughter in the end. “Aren’t we full of surprises.”

**_Sam:_ ** _ “Okay but the real question here is the ring” _

**_Blitz:_ ** _ “And when are we celebrating, that’s important _ _ ” _

The chat fell into an awaiting silence after that and Magnus was left unsure of what to write yet again. He looked at Alex for help, but she looked just as lost as him. They hadn’t started planning anything yet.

_ Uhm, it was a really sudden thing with no planning behind it, so no ring _

_ Yet _

“Yet?” Alex asked, looking startled in that soft way of hers, like she was just trying to make sure she had understood right.

“I mean, yeah, we might not be doing this the classic way, but the ring is still the ring.” Magnus felt his whole face heat up, as if he were still treading on the thin edge of their early relationship. As if he weren’t neck deep into it.

Alex took his face between her hands, making him turn around fully. She looked incredibly serious as she stared into his eyes. A heartbeat, two. She was looking at him with the same intensity as when she worked with her clay. Like what she was seeing was all that existed.

“You’re a fucking sap and I love you to the end of earth.” In her voice, it could have been a threat and a promise and Magnus was okay with either.

She kissed him and the world around them faded to silence. All Magnus could hear was the loop of thoughts that kept following him. When they broke apart, Alex still not letting go of him, he found himself voicing them in the dizzy awe of their proximity.

“I am  _ so  _ in love with you,” he whispered, feeling out of breath as if he had to run a marathon to reach that thought. “You have no idea just how much.”

She grinned, slowly, tenderly, in her very own way to say  _ idem. _ The list of reasons he was marrying her would be endless.

The moment languished as Alex let her hands drop and took the phone, flashing him a devilish look as she unlocked it to check the new tide of messages. Magnus let her, he’d much rather keep looking at her.

“They’re asking when we’re celebrating. I told them we don’t know what we have to do in order to celebrate.” They’d gotten a bit sidetracked, Magnus realized. Wasn’t that the main topic they had to discuss? “On an unrelated note,” Alex continued, barely looking up from the screen as she typed something. “We have to choose our witnesses. I just asked Sam, now it’s your turn.”

She passed him the phone and he wasted a bit of time reading the last few messages. He didn’t want to choose just yet, even if he had already. Everyone was cheering for Alex’s (rather obvious) pick. Magnus feared that his pick would turn into the Jealousy Games. He decided to trust his friends.

_ Soo this is a dire choice, but I shalt make it _

He inhaled deeply before starting to type again. Alex whispered a very annoyed ‘come on’, tapping impatiently on his arm.

_ TJ, will you give me the honor of being my best man? _

He didn’t have to wait long for the many replies that came. Most of them were exclamations points, surrounding TJ’s remarkable  _ ‘of fucking course Magnus, I’m getting my tux out as we speak’. _

“Why did asking him gave me more anxiety than asking  _ you _ ?”

Alex burst out laughing and she hid her face in his shoulder.

“It’s because you two are platonically dating. Sometimes I think I’m third wheeling.”

“Come on, not really,” Magnus glanced at her, halfheartedly hoping for her to says she was joking, but she was dead serious, only slightly amused. “Really?”

“Yeah, but it’s kind of cute. It will take much more than that to make me jealous.” She lay back against the cushions, crossing her arms behind her head. “The day you’ll show interest into someone who isn’t me or TJ, I’ll start worrying.”

Magnus shook his head, biting back a laugh.

“You’re something else.”

“Indeed. What is the chat saying?”

Magnus unlocked the phone yet again and found out that the most pressing question was now the date. Still, they didn’t have one.

_ About that, anyone knows what we have to do, paperwork-wise? _

The others started guessing, replying with ideas just as vague as Magnus’. He took Alex’s hand, distractedly playing with her fingers. It didn’t feel real. Not always, at least. It came and went in waves, the awareness of what they were getting into.

Blitzen sent the link to a WikiHow page. Magnus had been right, the man always had the answer to everything.

 

The ceremony itself wasn’t much, but neither of them had wanted something extra. The wait before it seemed to be endless, but then it went by way too fast.

It was a rollercoaster, hearts speeding and tears threatening to spill each time they looked at each other. They kept mouthing words to each other in attempts to talk without disrupting the almost sacred silence filling the room. Mostly things like  _ I can’t believe it’s real. _

More often than not for the past few weeks, before they had managed to get everything in order to make it official, they’d lain awake in bed in stunned amazement, trying to wrap their heads around the fact that they had actually meant it, they were doing it. Sometimes it had felt like waking up from a dream, fearing that it was not real, but it always was.

When they had the signed document in their hands, it still felt too good to be true, but so so much more real.

Still, the bureaucratic part wasn’t what really mattered, even if being declared legally wed quickly made its way into Magnus’ best memories. What he’d been waiting for, specifically, was the afterparty.

It was a simple thing, just a lunch in a restaurant with a really nice view and low prices. Perfect for two broke university students who had not waited long enough to save up some more. And anyway, the guests were just their closest friends, which had been a conscious choice they didn’t have to argue over. Neither of them wanted to deal with blood family on  _ that  _ day. Having Hearth and Blitz weep in the front row was enough to create the atmosphere. And Annabeth had come with Percy from New York! Both Magnus and Alex had one representative of their relatives and they liked them enough to want them there.

 

Magnus had never felt more alive than when they walked out of the building and, eyes glossed over, he hugged each of them, old and new friends, chosen siblings and improvised fathers. The only thing that could beat it was holding Alex’s hand in front of all of them,  _ kissing  _ him, while they all cheered. It was an emotion stronger than the adrenaline on the last drop of a rollercoaster. If he could, he would have lived for forever in that moment, just as their lips touched and everything felt warm and colorful and wonderful.

 

Driving to the restaurant was the first moment Magnus and Alex had to be alone since the early morning, before their friends had swarmed their flat. It was a silent ride, as they had already said everything they held inside at least twice. They held hands in the space between the seats, stealing glances and smiles as if they were on their first date.

They didn’t have much time to talk until they settled down at the table. They were only eleven people so they managed to fit at one table. Maybe they were a bit too close to each other, but it was much less formal than the suits and ties made it seem.

“We’re one person away from remaking the last supper,” Halfborn noted after a quick headcount.

“Yeah, there’s no betrayer because this is going to be a fun supper.” Alex shone him a smile from ear to ear, with his cat-like equivocacy.

Voices and conversations layered on each other. Even if most of them lived close, they barely ever met, at least not all together. They had a lot of catching up to do and soon the stories from Boston mixed with Percy and Annabeth’s anecdotes from New York and a bit of the rest of the world. They had traveled a lot. Soon they all forgot about the main event of the day and it all just became a long-awaited get-together. Magnus couldn’t have wished for anything different.

The sun shone down blindingly on the terrace they were on, but they were sitting under a gazebo and there was a slight breeze, so it wasn’t as terribly hot. as they had feared. The sky was blue and there were no clouds in sight. Everyone seemed to shine a little brighter. Magnus tried to commit that feeling of peace to memory, to come back to it in the future when he was missing his friends. They’d taken a lot of photos, Sam was still holding her camera in her hands, but he knew that what he was seeing was nothing they could catch in a photograph.

It was bliss. A calm that made everything okay again. He was not sure he had ever felt like this before, or that he would again.

The spell lasted until he felt his phone ring in his pocket. A shiver ran down his spine in anticipation as he looked around the table, trying to understand who might be calling him right then. He fished his phone out and sneakily checked the screen. His blood froze in his veins and he was tempted to reject the call and go back to his party. 

His father was calling. He didn’t even know  _ he  _ had his phone number. The phone kept vibrating for an unsettlingly long time, almost mocking him. He didn’t know what to do. He knew he only had a few seconds left to answer and he sure as hell wasn’t going to call back.

He got up in a rush, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen, as if he could keep the call on just like that. He glanced at Alex for a second, apologetic. He looked confused, almost worried, and went to grab his arm, but Magnus dodged it and stepped away, turning his back to the table as he walked towards somewhere with a pretense of privacy.

“Frey,” he said coldly into the microphone when he answered, a part of him hoping that his father would just hang up. He didn’t.

“Son!” His voice sounded so friendly, almost as if they were on speaking terms. Almost as if they had a normal relationship. Just a father checking on his son, instead of wary almost-strangers. Magnus had to stop himself from hanging up in a bout of rage. He listened.

 

At the table, they heard everything. Or at least everything that there was to hear, barely a word, but it turned the air to ice. Alex itched to get up and follow Magnus, but a tense silence had fallen and it was not the moment to add any more tension. He shared a look with Hearth and Blitz, who looked just as concerned as he felt. The rest of them had an idea of why that was an incredibly unfortunate call, but didn’t say anything, hoping that someone else would break the awkward quiet.

All of them knew, except the two New Yorkers, but they had the decency of not asking, even if Percy had confusion painted on his face. Annabeth was staring at his boyfriend with a stormy look in her eyes, but none of them said anything. Everyone seemed to move like they were afraid of breaking something. Alex couldn’t take the silence.

He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands, tilting his head to look at the couple. He tried to channel all the nonchalance he had, as if it was not a big deal at all.

“It was Magnus’ father,” he said simply, observing Percy’s reaction. Annabeth diverted her eyes, sighing. Maybe she did know something. Understanding washed away all the perplexity on Percy’s face and he nodded briefly. It was implicit but clear that it was not a good thing. After all, why would have Magnus stormed off if it had been?

“I had noticed the, uh, lack of relatives,” Percy offered, bending his lips in a tentative smile. Smirks and laughs disguised as coughs circled around the table. Alex found himself smiling a bit too, even if bitterly.

“Yeah, we don’t really like them. We only invited those we like,” he nodded towards Sam and Annabeth, who respectively looked annoyed and somewhat surprised. “I specifically uninvited my relatives, but-”

“Alex, you sent them a letter with the wrong date and place, daring them to show up. That’s not  _ uninviting _ them,” Sam pointed out, but Alex just shrugged.

“That’s even eviler,” Mallory laughed, then she turned to Halfborn by her side, “Remind me to do that to my mother when we’ll do anything.”

“The point is,” Alex said, his voice turning cold. “Magnus insisted on telling his father, even if we both knew the answer and I deemed it useless. Obviously, the answer was no, he was too busy to come all the way to Boston. We shrugged it off, because not even Magnus cares that much about him being here. But calling? That’s fucking low,”

“I had no idea he had found him,” Annabeth whispered, probably wondering out loud. Alex couldn’t help but laugh harshly.

“Yeah, more like Frey appeared out of nowhere, all business, as if it were just another weekend. We’ve seen him once, like three months ago. Never heard from him again.” Alex went to stand, a bit too worried about Magnus and too angry about Frey to sit still another second.

“Why wouldn’t he want to come, though? It’s not just a random thing,” Percy asked, his voice soft.

“Because he doesn’t care. A wedding isn’t any different to a graduation party or a birthday, and he went for twenty-three years without ever showing up.” Alex stared at Percy until he saw him nodding, darkness clouding his eyes. Alex knew nothing of him, but he felt like he understood, at least to some extent. He turned and walked down the way he had seen Magnus go.

He found him after a bit of wandering. He was leaning against the railing of the terrace, behind a wall of ivy. He was looking down on the city, a hand still holding his phone close to his face. Alex heard him speak, his voice low in a whisper, drenched in defeat. There was just a hint of hurt and hatred in it, morphing it into sounding much colder.

"I wish I had never met you."

Alex saw him close the call, evidently too quickly to allow Frey to react, but there was no hurry in his movements. A warm, suffocating feeling filled Alex's chest as he walked towards Magnus. He was still leaning over the railing, shoulders slouched under an invisible weight.

Alex called his name softly and he spun around, looking much less upset than Alex expected him to be. He took his hand, searching his face for anything revealing of his state. Magnus smiled a bit, squeezing his hand. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and turned his full attention to his partner.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," he sounded sure, but Alex wasn't convinced. "I'm just annoyed that he had to remind me of his existence."

They stood there in silence for a minute, staring at each other, letting their expressions do the talking. In the end, Magnus averted his eyes, hesitating as a truth made its way through his throat.

"If anything, it reminded me of the fact that the only other person I would want to be here, can't possibly come and that's- yeah." His voice broke off, shaking a bit as an unexpected wave of wet coldness hit his insides.

Alex pulled him into a hug, his hands holding on the back of his shirt. Magnus buried his face in Alex's shoulder, lightly resting his hands on his sides. Time seemed to slow down as they grieved and breathed, clinging to each other as the light breeze tussled their hair.

"She would have been so happy for you," Alex murmured, thinking out loud. Magnus hummed in agreement, breathing in deeply, just to exhale the bitterness building up in his chest.

"She would have loved you."

They held each other for a little longer, thoughts swirling with the mutual promise, although never spoken, of never walking away. At that moment, hardly not crumbling to pieces, Magnus knew that Alex was all that could glue him back together. He smiled.

"We should go back to the table," Magnus said when he found his voice. "They'll wonder where we went."

Alex agreed, but hesitated when he had to let go of Magnus. He pulled his lips in a thin, unconvinced frown and grabbed his hand. He cheered inwardly when their rings clinked against each other.

"Do I look upset?" Magnus asked as he brought his free hand up to brush away his hair from his face. Alex didn't reply right away, a bit puzzled by the question, a bit trying to figure out if he looked upset. He didn't and Alex told him. He barely even looked as if something had happened at all, maybe just a bit less cheery than he'd been before. His features settled back into that familiar and polite expression of awareness. If he was agitated, Alex could not find a hint of it.

They made their way back to the table, where the party hadn't stopped. The good mood washed away any tension than Alex held in still. As they sat down, Amir turned towards them to sum up the conversation that had gone on. Something about the worst holidays they had ever had.

After a while, and a few glasses of wine later, Halfborn decided that he was bored of conversation.

"It's time for gifts!" He declared, arching his back to stretch it out. Alex turned to stare at him, more surprised than any would have expected.

"Gifts?" He repeated in disbelief. He wasn’t sure he had heard right nor he found it in himself to believe that.

“Yeah, it’s a wedding.” Halfborn looked at him as if he couldn’t understand why that sounded so foreign to Alex.

“You shouldn’t have,” Alex fought weakly, although he was now eyeing the bags that the guests were putting on the table. Some distant part of his consciousness wondered why he hadn’t noticed them before.

“It was the best chance we had to buy you all the house appliances you never bothered to get.” Mallory shrugged, sharing a complicit look with TJ.

“We were this close to nominating you to Queer Eye, just to see your flat look like an inhabitable place.” TJ’s fingers were touching. Magnus had to cover his face to stifle his laughter.

“Well, shall we begin?”

Alex was still too much in shock to react, so Magnus opened the first present. Blitz had slid it over the table towards them. It was an envelope, thick and elegant paper. For a second Magnus feared it would contain money, but inside he just found a piece of paper. Printer paper this time, thin and rough. With a slightly smeared photo of an IKEA sofa printed on it, surrounded by dark lines of text. The receipt of an online order. Magnus had no idea how to react to that. 

He turned towards the two men by his side, a smile so wide his cheeks hurt. Words didn’t come, so he signed what he felt, putting his hands' palms to him and moving them forward.  _ Thank you so much. _

He passed the envelope to Alex, who was straining his neck to look over his shoulder. After a second of recollection, he started stuttering incomprehensible sounds, looking from the envelope to the two smiling men, at a total loss of what to say. There was  _ no  _ way to express his thanks enough.

“I knew you hated our couch but,” he finally managed to push his voice out of where it had gotten stuck. “This is… we’ll  _ venerate _ this couch.”

“I sure hope so.” 

Alex had spoken with such intensity that Blitz had burst out laughing.

The second gift was from Halfborn, Mallory, and TJ. It was a box wrapped up in silver paper. Magnus let Alex do the ripping, holding his breath as the bits fell on the table.

“A microwave?” Magnus asked, glancing up to his three friends, as surprise took over his amazement.

“I don’t know how you survived so long without one.” Halfborn had a sly smile peeking through his beard. Magnus simply loved how practical his friends were. And how passive aggressive all of this was.

“I am haunted by your kitchen,” TJ said, sounding much more dramatic than the topic required. “Each time I come over I feel a void inside when I see how  _ empty _ it is.”

“Shut up,” Magnus laughed, throwing a piece of paper at his friend’s face, but it landed flat on the table between them.

Sam and Amir’s gift was just as nice. It was a nice wooden box, the surface carved with a floral motif. It was small, Magnus could hold it in two hands. Inside, lying over soft satin, there was an old-looking knife. The blade was sharp and shiny, tinged golden, with an elaborate hilt, somehow looking like twigs and branches twirling over each other. It was stunning and it was accepted with the promise that they’d spend more time at Amir’s restaurant.

“As if that wasn’t your second home already,” Alex commented, elbowing Magnus with no malice at all.

Annabeth called Magnus’ name to get his attention and leaned over the table to hand him an envelope. She smiled sweetly and she seemed about to say something but at the last second she changed her mind and sat back down. Magnus thought he understood anyway.

The envelope held two tickets for the Lion King show on Broadway. Neither Magnus nor Alex knew what to say once again, as they both felt like their breath had been knocked out of them.

“Jesus, guys, I was not expecting-” Magnus tried to speak, but it was hard even to keep his jaw from hanging open in astonishment. Percy waved his hand with a scrunched up expression, as if it was nothing.

“You’re totally welcome in our apartment when you’ll come to New York,” he said, grinning wide. “I just hope you’ll manage to get a day off.”

Alex and Magnus exchanged a look, agreeing silently that materialistic things like work couldn’t compete with  _ Broadway. _

There weren’t enough words in English for them to properly thank their friends, it was impossible to even imagine turning into speech the unconditional affection and warmth they felt, it would only diminish it. So they did their best to enjoy their wedding day, making sure that their friends were aware of just how much they meant to them, even if through indirect means.

Love took many forms and communication was the most flexible of all arts.

Hours later, as the sky got dark, their friends left to go home, after interminable hugs and wishes of good luck. Magnus and Alex, ever the introverts, felt relief wash over them, as selfish as it made them feel. They loved their friends, they didn’t know how many times they’d thought about it that day, but after so many hours together they needed that silence.

They left the restaurant hand in hand, sure that nothing would ever feel like that again. They couldn’t help tugging at the other’s arm every now and then, whenever the awareness that they were married hit them again, just to smile sheepishly, staring at the other with adoration in their eyes for the way that the street lamps lit their face. The walk to the car was five minutes maximum, but it took them three times that much because they kept stopping in every poodle of yellow light to kiss or whisper in secrecy. They still had so much to tell each other and time seemed to be slipping away too fast. Magnus thought he would never feel again as mortal as right then, twenty-three and with another milestone checked off on his to-do list. He had gotten there just to realize that now that it was behind him, he didn’t know what to aim for next. Life was a steep slope and it took nothing to get to the end of it.

In the car, they were silent, because the soft purring of the engine felt too familiar to cover it with new words.

 

The sun had set and the world turned totally dark when Alex broke the silence. Magnus had thought he -no, she- had fallen asleep against the window and maybe she had, because she stretched her arms up and yawned.

“I’m hungry,” she said, shooting him a meaningful look, the kind of expression that made him think that she was expecting him to pull out dinner from the glove compartment.

“We’re literally coming back from lunch.” His defense was weak and he knew it. If he were to be honest, he was kind of hungry too.

“We ate  _ hours _ ago. Come on, take out?”

“Sure.” The idea of quick, tasty food was too appealing to fight Alex on the ground that they had food at home. “Burger King it is.”

She patted him on the head with a cat-like grin on her face.

“Good boy, thank you, husband.”

Magnus almost jumped up, looking quickly between the street and Alex, eyes wide in shock. Alex had fallen into a fit of giggles, sliding down the seat until she was curled up with her knees against her chest, a hand slapped on her mouth and her eyes closed tight. Her face was flushed and bright and her unbridled laughter filled the car. Magnus found himself laughing along.

“Husband,” she said again, but much slower, tasting the way it rolled off her tongue. It felt foreign and familiar at the same time, like coming back to something after a long, long absence.

“Can you even believe this?” Magnus said, his smile curling his voice into an ecstatic tone. “You’re my  _ wife. _ ”

Never in their lives they had thought those words would ever mean something so important to them.

“I am having a really hard time realizing that it’s real,” Alex admitted, straightening out a bit and turning to face Magnus, a longing look in her crinkled eyes and the fraying end of her laughter in her voice. “But I’m glad it is.”

When they pulled in the drive-through, they stole a kiss, too giddy not to cross the space between them. Alex took her time to stare into his eyes, cupping his face with her hands. It was her favorite thing to do.

But their turn to order arrived and they had to move away again. Alex ordered loads of food, a burger with virtually everything and fries and chicken nuggets and topped it all with a milkshake. Magnus decided he’d steal her food.

The ride home was way longer than they could stand, thanks to both the heavenly smell of the food sitting in the back seat and the sudden urge to hold each other. They still hadn’t gotten the chance to celebrate between themselves and the few minutes they had to wait to be home thinned the rope of their patience, until Alex was almost leaning against Magnus’ shoulder, as uncomfortable as it was.

Alex barged into the apartment like a captain landing on a new shore. She kicked the door open and took one of the food bags from Magnus’ arms, only to drop it again on the kitchen table. By the time Magnus walked into the room, the keyring hanging from his forefinger, Alex’s tie was undone and haphazardly thrown over her shoulders, the first few buttons of the shirt were popped open. Her head was tilted back as if she was breathing decently for the first time in a while. Magnus was suddenly aware of how tight his own tie was.

Alex shot him an askew look, not moving away from the table. It was all incredibly normal, like just another night, if only they ignored the fancy suits and the big bag Magnus had left in the doorway, with the envelopes from their friends poking out of the edge.

“I’m going to get in my pajamas, then we can eat and do whatever else. Maybe sleep, I’m exhausted.” Alex waited for Magnus to tiredly nod and walked out.

Magnus remained in the kitchen, blearily looking out of the window without really seeing anything. He undid his tie slowly, lost in dense and blurry thoughts. He smiled meekly when he saw the ring on his finger. They still had to get them engraved, they hadn’t found anything meaningful enough yet and Alex had firmly opposed to writing their wedding date. They were jotting down ideas on sticky notes on the fridge, maybe one day they’d choose. So far though, the idea he liked the most was their names written in the elvish alphabet. Alex wasn’t that convinced.

She came back a few minutes later, hugging him from behind and rubbing her damp face against his neck, making him shiver.

“Get out of this mortician’s outfit, I’ll wait on the couch. With the food.”

“Are you taking it hostage?” he laughed, turning around in her arms to look at her.

“Yes. I will eat one of your chips for every minute you’re not here. Now go.” She pushed him lightly, and a playful smile danced on her lips. He kissed her and walked off, lingering for a second in the doorway to look at her rummage through the bags to get everything.

Getting rid of his stiff clothes was one of the most freeing sensations ever and his oversized shirt felt twice as nice as it was normally. He shuffled to the living room while loosely tying up his hair. Alex was indeed waiting for him, curled up on the couch with a few cardboard boxes in her lap and the TV on to something she didn’t care for. He sat next to her, stealing the fries box from her and settling against the cushions.

“I only ate one chip, I was nice.” Her soft tone made it almost sound childish, it made him laugh. He took her hand, drawing circles on the back with his thumb.

“You married me. That was nice of you too.”

“Yeah,” it came out muffled. She was stuffing her mouth with the burger already. She raised her eyebrows when he laughed at that picture. “What? I am actually hungry.”

“I can see that.”

They fell silent as they ate because they were finally close, their legs tangled on the couch, and there was no need to fret.

“You know what I find funny?” Alex asked between bites. Magnus shook his head as he took a long sip of his coke. “If I had changed my gender marker on my passport, we could have probably gotten married in a church. Wouldn’t that have been cool? We would have tricked the church!”

Magnus snorted, regretting it the second after because his nose started stinging.

“It would have been cool indeed.”

“Maybe it would have been the first, even,” she wondered out loud, voice bordering on dreamy.

“Probably not, I’m sure a lot of other people have thought of this kind of ploy, you know?”

“Yeah,” Alex’s voice dropped into silence and she focused on her food again, until she looked up with a deep sigh. “The twenty-first century is shit, everything has been done already.”

Magnus stared at her for a second, an amused smile dancing on his lips. It was so out of the blue and so  _ Alex _ that he couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate her. He chewed on his straw, pensive.

“True that,” he said at length. “But it’s always the first time for  _ you _ , as an individual. Like, for example, this is the first time you have gotten married  _ and _ no one else has been married the same way. Just because you are you and they are them.”

Alex looked pained, her face scrunched up in the effort to wrap her tired brain around what Magnus was saying. In his head, it was linear and clear, but Alex didn’t really like his way of thinking at ten in the evening.

“Can your philosophizing wait until tomorrow? I’m getting a migraine just by  _ hearing  _ that.”

Magnus laughed softly, dropping his head back so that it rested on the cushion. It hit him that everything he had ever dreamt about, everything he had ever wished for, was right in front of and all around him. The exhilaration of that revelation made everything spin in a swirl of light. He wanted to kiss Alex, hold her, feel her presence, adore her until everything else faded.

“Yes, yes, of course. We have all the time in the world.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hello!!!! it's been a month since my last update (guys i'm crying no joke i can't believe it's already been a month since i came to belgium) so i thought it's time to post something new  
> I started writing this on the 15 of august and i actually finished it before leaving home, this has been sitting in my drafts for so long  
> it was inspired by a random thought I had while talking to my darling. I told them that Magnus and Alex would get married out of nowhere, barely telling anyone. And the idea stuck with me, so I had to write this. I never wrote so much fluff before so yeah, this was highkey weird for me, also because I didn't tell anyone about this lmao (aka it has not been beta'd so lemme know if you see mistakes)  
> hope you liked it!!!! comment if you want, i'd love to hear your thoughts about this!!!  
> see you next month!! (fuck i hope it goes by real slow i don't wanna leave) xxx


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